Here are the usual whinings and apologies about how late this part of the list is. Parts four and five usually go much faster though, so hopefully we'll get there soon! Here's part three of my list after the break, please read and comment and all that. Enjoy!
50. 아이유 - '꽃갈피'
IU - 'Flower Bookmark'
Genre: K-Indie Folk
Country of Origin: South Korea
IU followed up her fantastic third LP, Modern Times, with a bit of a surprise--an EP of seven covers of classic Korean songs from the '80s and '90s. But in all honesty, is it really any surprise that IU can make literally any song wonderful? Flower Bookmark is a collection of beautiful ballads, eerie acoustic numbers, and catchy early-pop tracks, with IU's phenomenal voice over the top. It might not be a new full-length, but Flower Bookmark is a wonderful holdover for fans eagerly awaiting her next release, and even for the uninitiated this is one of the most simply pleasant releases of the year, and a must-have for any K-pop lover.
Top tracks: 꽃; 삐에로는 우릴 보고 웃지
Preview.
IU - 'Flower Bookmark'
Genre: K-Indie Folk
Country of Origin: South Korea
IU followed up her fantastic third LP, Modern Times, with a bit of a surprise--an EP of seven covers of classic Korean songs from the '80s and '90s. But in all honesty, is it really any surprise that IU can make literally any song wonderful? Flower Bookmark is a collection of beautiful ballads, eerie acoustic numbers, and catchy early-pop tracks, with IU's phenomenal voice over the top. It might not be a new full-length, but Flower Bookmark is a wonderful holdover for fans eagerly awaiting her next release, and even for the uninitiated this is one of the most simply pleasant releases of the year, and a must-have for any K-pop lover.
Top tracks: 꽃; 삐에로는 우릴 보고 웃지
Preview.
49. Devin Townsend Project - 'Sky Blue'
Genre: Progressive Metal
Country of Origin: Canada
Sky Blue is the first half of Devin Townsend's latest double album, partnered with the far more significant but far less enjoyable Ziltoid the Omniscient sequel, Dark Matters. It doesn't have quite the unique power that the initial quartet of Devin Townsend Project albums supplied, but Sky Blue has a wonder all its own. Full of catchy, melodic tracks made up of Townsend's instantly-recognizable production, heavy guitars, and topped with his smooth voice and the inspiring singing of frequent collaborator Anneke van Giersbergen, the record perfectly combines catchy, beautiful, and heavy in a way that 2012's Epicloud didn't quite pull off. The album is exciting, varied, and expertly crafted, an excellent rarity in the progressive metal world.
Top tracks: Sky Blue; Fallout
Preview.
Genre: Progressive Metal
Country of Origin: Canada
Sky Blue is the first half of Devin Townsend's latest double album, partnered with the far more significant but far less enjoyable Ziltoid the Omniscient sequel, Dark Matters. It doesn't have quite the unique power that the initial quartet of Devin Townsend Project albums supplied, but Sky Blue has a wonder all its own. Full of catchy, melodic tracks made up of Townsend's instantly-recognizable production, heavy guitars, and topped with his smooth voice and the inspiring singing of frequent collaborator Anneke van Giersbergen, the record perfectly combines catchy, beautiful, and heavy in a way that 2012's Epicloud didn't quite pull off. The album is exciting, varied, and expertly crafted, an excellent rarity in the progressive metal world.
Top tracks: Sky Blue; Fallout
Preview.
48. Fatima Al Qadiri - 'Asiatisch'
Genre: Experimental Electronic
Country of Origin: USA
Asiatisch is a scathing criticism of appropriation and America's obsession with East Asian culture, from a Kuwaiti woman creating an album about an imaginary trip through a China which she's never visited. As always, Fatima Al Qadiri's message and intent is veiled in a thousand layers of minimalist haze, and her political fury can be difficult to interpret, but even without it the album is a sublime experience. Skeletal synths over nearly-beatless backdrops create the framework for Asiatisch, frightening and disorienting in all the right ways. This is an album that begs to be understood while pushing away anyone who tries, a phenomenal work of minimal electronic and Fatima Al Qadiri's best release yet.
Top tracks: Szechuan; Shenzhen
Preview.
Genre: Experimental Electronic
Country of Origin: USA
Asiatisch is a scathing criticism of appropriation and America's obsession with East Asian culture, from a Kuwaiti woman creating an album about an imaginary trip through a China which she's never visited. As always, Fatima Al Qadiri's message and intent is veiled in a thousand layers of minimalist haze, and her political fury can be difficult to interpret, but even without it the album is a sublime experience. Skeletal synths over nearly-beatless backdrops create the framework for Asiatisch, frightening and disorienting in all the right ways. This is an album that begs to be understood while pushing away anyone who tries, a phenomenal work of minimal electronic and Fatima Al Qadiri's best release yet.
Top tracks: Szechuan; Shenzhen
Preview.
47. Her Name Is Calla - 'Navigator'
Genre: Indie Post-Rock
Country of Origin: England
Genre: Indie Post-Rock
Country of Origin: England
Her Name Is Calla have changed a lot since 2010's The Quiet Lamb. The sweeping post-rock climaxes and ambience are replaced with dark synths, acoustic guitars, occasional genuine indie rock, and a lot of singing. Navigator isn't the same crescendocore as their last album, but it's also one of the most varied and intriguing records to come out of the post-rock world since then. Some of the tracks still build and swell, bursting with organic beauty, while others function just as songs and nothing more, but the real magic of Navigator is how remarkably different each track is from the last without losing any sense of cohesiveness. Her Name Is Calla expertly jump from dark electronic to piano folk to post-rock and back again without ever missing a beat, and the album feels far more unified than it has any right to. It helps, of course, that they perform each of these genres with the utmost sincerity, bleeding emotional commitment and power, filling Navigator with an intensity that asks you to let it take you away with it and not look back for its hour runtime.
Top tracks: Burial; It Was Flood
Preview.
Top tracks: Burial; It Was Flood
Preview.
46. Damien Rice - 'My Favourite Faded Fantasy'
Genre: Indie Folk
Country of Origin: Ireland
Exactly eight years to the day after 9, Damien Rice has released his third album. That gap alone should hint at the importance of this album, especially given that both O and 9 were veritable masterpieces in the early days of indie folk. But here he is with My Favourite Faded Fantasy, a powerful collection of eight long-form, melancholy folk songs full of Damien Rice's knack for tugging on heartstrings and playing with the folk formula. This is potentially the best album Rice has ever made, and it never grows thin despite the tracks' at-times lengthy runtimes, The songs never feel too cheesy (something Rice has struggled with in the past), and the whole thing perfectly fills the bleeding-heart dramatic folk niche that 2014 was so lacking in, dripping with world-weary vocals and climactic swelling strings. On the whole, My Favourite Faded Fantasy is a warm, comforting, sorrowful return to the world from one of indie folk's finest, and what a comeback it is.
Genre: Indie Folk
Country of Origin: Ireland
Exactly eight years to the day after 9, Damien Rice has released his third album. That gap alone should hint at the importance of this album, especially given that both O and 9 were veritable masterpieces in the early days of indie folk. But here he is with My Favourite Faded Fantasy, a powerful collection of eight long-form, melancholy folk songs full of Damien Rice's knack for tugging on heartstrings and playing with the folk formula. This is potentially the best album Rice has ever made, and it never grows thin despite the tracks' at-times lengthy runtimes, The songs never feel too cheesy (something Rice has struggled with in the past), and the whole thing perfectly fills the bleeding-heart dramatic folk niche that 2014 was so lacking in, dripping with world-weary vocals and climactic swelling strings. On the whole, My Favourite Faded Fantasy is a warm, comforting, sorrowful return to the world from one of indie folk's finest, and what a comeback it is.
Top tracks: The Box; The Greatest Bastard
Preview.
45. Emma Ruth Rundle - 'Some Heavy Ocean'
Genre: Dark Folk
Country of Origin: USA
2014 has seen a huge insurgence of women making eerie, reverb-filled dark folk music in the vein of Chelsea Wolfe or Giles Corey. Emma Ruth Rundle (of Red Sparowes and Marriages fame) might be some of the best of the bunch though, and her debut album is solid proof of that. Some Heavy Ocean is made up on some of the most eerie folk songs of longing to come out this year, all mournful acoustic guitars and echoey vocals. The songs run from noisy to plodding, but they all work perfectly together to make Some Heavy Ocean the kind of album to define a career by, spooky, melancholy, and deeply moving.
Top tracks: Run Forever; Shadows of My Name
Preview.
Preview.
Genre: Dark Folk
Country of Origin: USA
2014 has seen a huge insurgence of women making eerie, reverb-filled dark folk music in the vein of Chelsea Wolfe or Giles Corey. Emma Ruth Rundle (of Red Sparowes and Marriages fame) might be some of the best of the bunch though, and her debut album is solid proof of that. Some Heavy Ocean is made up on some of the most eerie folk songs of longing to come out this year, all mournful acoustic guitars and echoey vocals. The songs run from noisy to plodding, but they all work perfectly together to make Some Heavy Ocean the kind of album to define a career by, spooky, melancholy, and deeply moving.
Top tracks: Run Forever; Shadows of My Name
Preview.
44. Rustie - 'Green Language'
Genre: Electronic
Country of Origin: Scotland
Rustie's second full-length is more bizarre, varied, and bombastic than ever before. Green Language opens with an immense synth hit and just keeps going from there, with giant four on the floor beats, electronic melodies that stay stuck in your head for days, and some big name guest spots. Despite opening with effectively two intro tracks, when Green Language gets going, it gets going hard, delivering one cathartic EDM track after another, from the pumping synths of 'Raptor' to the Danny Brown-fueled aggression of 'Attak.' It may be a little less immediate than 2011's Glass Swords, but the ecstatic highs of Green Language are well worth the wait.
Top tracks: Velcro; Raptor
Preview.
Genre: Electronic
Country of Origin: Scotland
Rustie's second full-length is more bizarre, varied, and bombastic than ever before. Green Language opens with an immense synth hit and just keeps going from there, with giant four on the floor beats, electronic melodies that stay stuck in your head for days, and some big name guest spots. Despite opening with effectively two intro tracks, when Green Language gets going, it gets going hard, delivering one cathartic EDM track after another, from the pumping synths of 'Raptor' to the Danny Brown-fueled aggression of 'Attak.' It may be a little less immediate than 2011's Glass Swords, but the ecstatic highs of Green Language are well worth the wait.
Top tracks: Velcro; Raptor
Preview.
43. Mamaleek - 'He Never Spoke a Mumblin' Word'
Genre: Avant-Garde Black Metal
Country of Origin: USA
Mamaleek's fourth full-length might be their darkest yet, trading in the tribal weirdness of Kurdaitcha for a newly punishing sound. He Never Spoke a Mumblin' Word is populated by hyperdistorted guitars, terrifying shrieks, unnervingly mechanical programmed drums, and some of the most lo-fi production around. As always, Mamaleek take the black metal formula and expertly twist it into something deeply unnerving and nearly unrecognizable, working in tones of bright ferocity and overwhelming noise rather than the usual gloom of the genre, and it pays off ten times over. He Never Spoke a Mumblin' Word is the band's most concise, immediate, and intense album yet, and an absolute must-hear for fans of any form of experimental heavy music.
Top tracks: He Never Spoke a Mumblin' Word; Almost Done Toiling Here
Listen.
Genre: Avant-Garde Black Metal
Country of Origin: USA
Mamaleek's fourth full-length might be their darkest yet, trading in the tribal weirdness of Kurdaitcha for a newly punishing sound. He Never Spoke a Mumblin' Word is populated by hyperdistorted guitars, terrifying shrieks, unnervingly mechanical programmed drums, and some of the most lo-fi production around. As always, Mamaleek take the black metal formula and expertly twist it into something deeply unnerving and nearly unrecognizable, working in tones of bright ferocity and overwhelming noise rather than the usual gloom of the genre, and it pays off ten times over. He Never Spoke a Mumblin' Word is the band's most concise, immediate, and intense album yet, and an absolute must-hear for fans of any form of experimental heavy music.
Top tracks: He Never Spoke a Mumblin' Word; Almost Done Toiling Here
Listen.
42. United Nations - 'The Next Four Years'
Genre: Screamo
Country of Origin: USA
The Next Four Years is the most pointed and intense United Nations have ever sounded. It's probably relevant to mention that the band has featured members of Glassjaw, Made Out of Babies, Converge, Pianos Become the Teeth, and The Number Twelve Looks Like You at various times in their existence, but are fronted by ex-Thursday singer Geoff Rickly. This is only somewhat relevant though, because Thursday have never sounded this brutal or punishing. The Next Four Years is a violent screamo album through and through, with pounding drums, climactic guitars, and throat-ripping screams, and while it's slightly less varied and bizarre than the band's self-titled debut, it's also more focused and emotionally tense. Overall, it's the most honed and powerful release from one of the best modern skramz bands, and that's saying an awful lot.
Top tracks: Serious Business; Between Two Mirrors
Preview.
Genre: Screamo
Country of Origin: USA
The Next Four Years is the most pointed and intense United Nations have ever sounded. It's probably relevant to mention that the band has featured members of Glassjaw, Made Out of Babies, Converge, Pianos Become the Teeth, and The Number Twelve Looks Like You at various times in their existence, but are fronted by ex-Thursday singer Geoff Rickly. This is only somewhat relevant though, because Thursday have never sounded this brutal or punishing. The Next Four Years is a violent screamo album through and through, with pounding drums, climactic guitars, and throat-ripping screams, and while it's slightly less varied and bizarre than the band's self-titled debut, it's also more focused and emotionally tense. Overall, it's the most honed and powerful release from one of the best modern skramz bands, and that's saying an awful lot.
Top tracks: Serious Business; Between Two Mirrors
Preview.
41. Xiu Xiu - 'Unclouded Sky'
Genre: Experimental Folk
Country of Origin: USA
Although their full-length this year, Angel Guts: Red Classroom was somewhat hit-or-miss, the record store day exclusive Unclouded Sky is one of the most interesting releases Xiu Xiu has ever put out. Split between field recordings made in Guyana and Jamie Stewart performing acoustic covers of American and Caribbean spirituals recorded in Iceland, the whole concept of the record is bizarre and uniquely captivating. Xiu Xiu's usual electronic and organic noise stripped away for a chilling solo acoustic performance somehow makes these spirituals even creepier than if Stewart had gone with his usual style, On the whole, Unclouded Sky is one of the most interesting albums to come out of Xiu Xiu in at least a few years, and some of the most remarkably unsettling and intriguing music out there, the kind of record that has to be hear to be imagined.
Top tracks: All Fo' You; Blood of the Lamb
Preview.
Genre: Experimental Folk
Country of Origin: USA
Although their full-length this year, Angel Guts: Red Classroom was somewhat hit-or-miss, the record store day exclusive Unclouded Sky is one of the most interesting releases Xiu Xiu has ever put out. Split between field recordings made in Guyana and Jamie Stewart performing acoustic covers of American and Caribbean spirituals recorded in Iceland, the whole concept of the record is bizarre and uniquely captivating. Xiu Xiu's usual electronic and organic noise stripped away for a chilling solo acoustic performance somehow makes these spirituals even creepier than if Stewart had gone with his usual style, On the whole, Unclouded Sky is one of the most interesting albums to come out of Xiu Xiu in at least a few years, and some of the most remarkably unsettling and intriguing music out there, the kind of record that has to be hear to be imagined.
Top tracks: All Fo' You; Blood of the Lamb
Preview.
40. Future Islands - 'Singles'
Genre: Synthpop
Country of Origin: USA
The fourth full-length by Future Islands is an album made from sweeping synths and gruff singing, simple melodies giving way to the kind of emotive music that synthpop has been missing in recent times. Singles is a forlorn record of incredibly intimate tunes running the gamut from pop anthems to mourning slow jams, but never losing its sense of direction. Future Islands put on a fantastically energetic performance and impress with every single giant, catchy track throughout the album, and never miss the mark once.
Top tracks: Doves; Spirit
Preview.
Genre: Synthpop
Country of Origin: USA
The fourth full-length by Future Islands is an album made from sweeping synths and gruff singing, simple melodies giving way to the kind of emotive music that synthpop has been missing in recent times. Singles is a forlorn record of incredibly intimate tunes running the gamut from pop anthems to mourning slow jams, but never losing its sense of direction. Future Islands put on a fantastically energetic performance and impress with every single giant, catchy track throughout the album, and never miss the mark once.
Top tracks: Doves; Spirit
Preview.
39. Against Me! - 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'
Genre: Punk Rock
Country of Origin: USA
Transgender Dysphoria Blues is probably the most important punk album ever made. Lots of people could argue for it being a little on the boring-rock-music side of things that Against Me! have veered towards lately, and some (cis) people will probably complain about the heavyhanded handling of the subject matter, but the fact remains that Laura Jane Grace is the only public figure in the mainstream punk world singing about the things she is. Transgender Dysphoria Blues is a biting punk album and one of the most real and lived depictions of life as a trans woman, and one of the few albums for an oppressed and under-represented group of people to rally again. Listening to Laura Jane Grace's passionate heart-on-sleeve descriptions of her experiences and emotional state is vivid and vital, remarkably relateable, some of the most exciting music to come out of Against Me! in years, and an immensely personal and powerful album of phenomenal punk rock.
Top tracks: Transgender Dysphoria Blues; Black Me Out
Preview.
Genre: Punk Rock
Country of Origin: USA
Transgender Dysphoria Blues is probably the most important punk album ever made. Lots of people could argue for it being a little on the boring-rock-music side of things that Against Me! have veered towards lately, and some (cis) people will probably complain about the heavyhanded handling of the subject matter, but the fact remains that Laura Jane Grace is the only public figure in the mainstream punk world singing about the things she is. Transgender Dysphoria Blues is a biting punk album and one of the most real and lived depictions of life as a trans woman, and one of the few albums for an oppressed and under-represented group of people to rally again. Listening to Laura Jane Grace's passionate heart-on-sleeve descriptions of her experiences and emotional state is vivid and vital, remarkably relateable, some of the most exciting music to come out of Against Me! in years, and an immensely personal and powerful album of phenomenal punk rock.
Top tracks: Transgender Dysphoria Blues; Black Me Out
Preview.
38. f(x) - 'Red Light'
Genre: K-Pop
Country of Origin: South Korea
I'll be honest and say that f(x) have never been one of my favorite K-pop groups, but their third record has completely turned that around. Red Light is one of the most varied and consistently exciting full-length albums to come out of the genre since 2012's Girls & Peace, full of an energy almost impossible to match. The album dips into darker electronic music with some hints of rhythmic trap influence, shifts gears to '80s inspired pop anthems and some of the heaviest numbers ever produced by a female K-pop act. f(x) absolutely destroy with every song on Red Light, providing a fast-paced and explosive ride unmatched by any of their peers.
Top tracks: Red Light; All Night
Preview.
Genre: K-Pop
Country of Origin: South Korea
I'll be honest and say that f(x) have never been one of my favorite K-pop groups, but their third record has completely turned that around. Red Light is one of the most varied and consistently exciting full-length albums to come out of the genre since 2012's Girls & Peace, full of an energy almost impossible to match. The album dips into darker electronic music with some hints of rhythmic trap influence, shifts gears to '80s inspired pop anthems and some of the heaviest numbers ever produced by a female K-pop act. f(x) absolutely destroy with every song on Red Light, providing a fast-paced and explosive ride unmatched by any of their peers.
Top tracks: Red Light; All Night
Preview.
37. Unicorn Kid - 'Brain Wash'
Genre: Seapunk/Chiptune/Electronic
Country of Origin: Scotland
I genuinely kind of can't believe that Unicorn Kid finally released his full-length album. A wonderful mix of big synth hooks, 8-bit melodies and earworm vocal samples, Brain Wash is one of the most purely blissful things to come out in a long time. The whole record plays out as the soundtrack to nights spent exploring a city until dawn with all of your strung-out friends, at once exciting and deeply nostalgic. It's full of joy and a haze of confusion, the kind of electronic music that doesn't sacrifice its fun or danceability but still somehow manages to be important and personal. and is the perfect climax of all that Unicorn Kid has done up until this point.
Top tracks: Pure Space; Feel So Real
Preview.
Genre: Seapunk/Chiptune/Electronic
Country of Origin: Scotland
I genuinely kind of can't believe that Unicorn Kid finally released his full-length album. A wonderful mix of big synth hooks, 8-bit melodies and earworm vocal samples, Brain Wash is one of the most purely blissful things to come out in a long time. The whole record plays out as the soundtrack to nights spent exploring a city until dawn with all of your strung-out friends, at once exciting and deeply nostalgic. It's full of joy and a haze of confusion, the kind of electronic music that doesn't sacrifice its fun or danceability but still somehow manages to be important and personal. and is the perfect climax of all that Unicorn Kid has done up until this point.
Top tracks: Pure Space; Feel So Real
Preview.
36. Charli XCX - 'SUCKER'
Genre: Pop
Country of Origin: England
A lot has changed since True Romance came out. Charli XCX hit international fame with 'I Don't Care (I Love It)' and 'Boom Clap,' and since has evolved out of her initial '80s-pop-meets-chillwave style into something decidedly more punky. That's not to say she isn't still blasting '80s pop, it's just filtered through loud guitars and snarling vocals now, energetic and ridiculously catchy. SUCKER is all confidence and aesthetic, a collection of tacky punk-tinged-pop anthems that are impossible not to love, It's the sound of Charli XCX finally coming into her own, full of attitude and without a single wasted second, and it couldn't be more exciting.
Top tracks: Break the Rules; Caught in the Middle
Preview.A lot has changed since True Romance came out. Charli XCX hit international fame with 'I Don't Care (I Love It)' and 'Boom Clap,' and since has evolved out of her initial '80s-pop-meets-chillwave style into something decidedly more punky. That's not to say she isn't still blasting '80s pop, it's just filtered through loud guitars and snarling vocals now, energetic and ridiculously catchy. SUCKER is all confidence and aesthetic, a collection of tacky punk-tinged-pop anthems that are impossible not to love, It's the sound of Charli XCX finally coming into her own, full of attitude and without a single wasted second, and it couldn't be more exciting.
Top tracks: Break the Rules; Caught in the Middle
35. Death From Above 1979 - 'The Physical World'
Genre: Dance Punk
Country of Origin: Canada
A full decade after You're A Woman, I'm A Machine, Death From Above 1979 have finally returned with their sophomore full-length. It's almost inevitable that there would be fans disappointed by The Physical World and the lofty standards it's been held up to, but in all honesty this album delivers more of what the band has always been renowned for: ridiculously catchy and energetic dance punk made out of just drums, bass, and vocals. The albums jumps and grooves ceaselessly, fun and ecstatic for every second, crushing everything that's happened in the genre since 2004. The fact is, Death From Above 1979 are at the absolute top of their game and only getting better. Let's just hope we don't have to wait another ten years for their next album.
Top tracks: Cheap Talk; Virgins
Preview.
Genre: Dance Punk
Country of Origin: Canada
A full decade after You're A Woman, I'm A Machine, Death From Above 1979 have finally returned with their sophomore full-length. It's almost inevitable that there would be fans disappointed by The Physical World and the lofty standards it's been held up to, but in all honesty this album delivers more of what the band has always been renowned for: ridiculously catchy and energetic dance punk made out of just drums, bass, and vocals. The albums jumps and grooves ceaselessly, fun and ecstatic for every second, crushing everything that's happened in the genre since 2004. The fact is, Death From Above 1979 are at the absolute top of their game and only getting better. Let's just hope we don't have to wait another ten years for their next album.
Top tracks: Cheap Talk; Virgins
Preview.
34. Banks - 'Goddess'
Genre: Downtempo/Dreampop
Country of Origin: USA
Banks' debut album is a perfect storm of dark keys and powerful alto vocals, a fantastic combination of dreampop, trip-hop, and futurepop into one giant slightly-too-long record of chilling songs alternating between catchy, tragic, and frightening. Goddess is lonely, atmospheric downtempo music done just right, and Banks has the kind of voice you can't escape, whether she's singing a simple ballad in 'Someone New' or howling her lungs out in the finale of 'Brain'. This is one of a series of absolutely incredible debuts that came out in 2014, and an amazing record of regretful and moody dreampop that serves as an extremely promising start to a career.
Top tracks: Brain; Warm Water
Preview.
Genre: Downtempo/Dreampop
Country of Origin: USA
Banks' debut album is a perfect storm of dark keys and powerful alto vocals, a fantastic combination of dreampop, trip-hop, and futurepop into one giant slightly-too-long record of chilling songs alternating between catchy, tragic, and frightening. Goddess is lonely, atmospheric downtempo music done just right, and Banks has the kind of voice you can't escape, whether she's singing a simple ballad in 'Someone New' or howling her lungs out in the finale of 'Brain'. This is one of a series of absolutely incredible debuts that came out in 2014, and an amazing record of regretful and moody dreampop that serves as an extremely promising start to a career.
Top tracks: Brain; Warm Water
Preview.
33. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra - 'Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything'
Genre: Vocal Post-Rock
Country of Origin: Canada
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra are best known as a Godspeed You! Black Emperor side project, but in recent years they've really been out to prove that they're much more than just a less relevant Godspeed. Starting with 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons and culminating with this year's record, Silver Mt. Zion have been on a giant upward swing, creating thunderously huge post-rock with loud guitars, driving drums, shrieking violins, and whiny vocals winding in and out of each other across double-digit song lengths. Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything is an absolutely affirming record, made up of inspirational climaxes and beautiful noise, one of the best post-rock releases to come out in years and certainly the best that Silver Mt. Zion have ever sounded. It's impossible to compare to anything else out there, and it couldn't be better.
Top tracks: Fuck Off Get Free (For the Island of Montreal); What We Loves Was Not Enough
Preview.Genre: Vocal Post-Rock
Country of Origin: Canada
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra are best known as a Godspeed You! Black Emperor side project, but in recent years they've really been out to prove that they're much more than just a less relevant Godspeed. Starting with 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons and culminating with this year's record, Silver Mt. Zion have been on a giant upward swing, creating thunderously huge post-rock with loud guitars, driving drums, shrieking violins, and whiny vocals winding in and out of each other across double-digit song lengths. Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything is an absolutely affirming record, made up of inspirational climaxes and beautiful noise, one of the best post-rock releases to come out in years and certainly the best that Silver Mt. Zion have ever sounded. It's impossible to compare to anything else out there, and it couldn't be better.
Top tracks: Fuck Off Get Free (For the Island of Montreal); What We Loves Was Not Enough
32. Girls' Generation - 'Mr.Mr.'
Genre: K-Pop
Country of Origin: South Korea
Girls' Generation's last release before Jessica's departure is an interesting one. A mini-album led by one of their most laid-back singles yet, the whole thing is smooth as hell and feels like a love letter to the shimmering synths and groove-oriented pop of the mid-early '80s. Mr.Mr. utilizes throbbing basslines, airy keyboards, and the nine voices of SNSD to some of the greatest effect the group has ever shown, full of key changes and peppered with slick guitar lines. The EP and its lead single stand alone as more proof that SNSD are the queens of their game, and that they nail every style they try. The group somehow manage to improve with almost every release, and it's hard to imagine their upward trajectory halting any time soon.
Top tracks: Mr.Mr.; Soul
Preview.
Genre: K-Pop
Country of Origin: South Korea
Girls' Generation's last release before Jessica's departure is an interesting one. A mini-album led by one of their most laid-back singles yet, the whole thing is smooth as hell and feels like a love letter to the shimmering synths and groove-oriented pop of the mid-early '80s. Mr.Mr. utilizes throbbing basslines, airy keyboards, and the nine voices of SNSD to some of the greatest effect the group has ever shown, full of key changes and peppered with slick guitar lines. The EP and its lead single stand alone as more proof that SNSD are the queens of their game, and that they nail every style they try. The group somehow manage to improve with almost every release, and it's hard to imagine their upward trajectory halting any time soon.
Top tracks: Mr.Mr.; Soul
Preview.
31. Clark - 'Clark'
Genre: Dark Electronic
Country of Origin: England
Clark is one of the most intricate and expressive records to come out of electronic music in the last few years, oozing chopped-up vocal samples and scattershot synths. Each new song on Clark's self-titled monster offers a new viewpoint on his absolute mastery of his craft, giving the listener a danceable beat and then laughing as you try to find how to fit together a way to follow the melody. These tracks command the layers and layers of atmospheric synths that make up their semi-vaporwave harmonic core in a way that's hard to even comprehend, throwing massive slabs of craterous atmosphere over the vibrant and frightening world built by Clark's impressive ear for emotion. Simply put, this is what electronic dance music has always needed to sound like, and there's nothing else like it.
Top tracks: Winter Linn; Unfurla
Preview.
Genre: Dark Electronic
Country of Origin: England
Clark is one of the most intricate and expressive records to come out of electronic music in the last few years, oozing chopped-up vocal samples and scattershot synths. Each new song on Clark's self-titled monster offers a new viewpoint on his absolute mastery of his craft, giving the listener a danceable beat and then laughing as you try to find how to fit together a way to follow the melody. These tracks command the layers and layers of atmospheric synths that make up their semi-vaporwave harmonic core in a way that's hard to even comprehend, throwing massive slabs of craterous atmosphere over the vibrant and frightening world built by Clark's impressive ear for emotion. Simply put, this is what electronic dance music has always needed to sound like, and there's nothing else like it.
Top tracks: Winter Linn; Unfurla
Preview.
30. Trophy Scars - 'Holy Vacants'
Genre: Bluesy Post-Hardcore
Country of Origin: USA
After two tremendous EPs, Trophy Scars have finally topped all of their past efforts with their newest full-length. Holy Vacants is dark, slow, gritty, and unnerving as hell, constructed on gruff vocals and slow-burning blues songs that build into immense post-hardcore climaxes. The album has a lofty concept and explores exceptionally dense lyrical things, but at its core it's just a phenomenal record. The music on Holy Vacants is unlike anything else out there, and Trophy Scars have finally perfected their intensely unique sound into something hard to even comprehend came out of a band that are still as underground as they are. Holy Vacants is not only the best album Trophy Scars have made, but one of the most interesting and one-of-a-kind post-hardcore records out there.
Top tracks: Hagiophobia; Burning Mirror
Preview.
Genre: Bluesy Post-Hardcore
Country of Origin: USA
After two tremendous EPs, Trophy Scars have finally topped all of their past efforts with their newest full-length. Holy Vacants is dark, slow, gritty, and unnerving as hell, constructed on gruff vocals and slow-burning blues songs that build into immense post-hardcore climaxes. The album has a lofty concept and explores exceptionally dense lyrical things, but at its core it's just a phenomenal record. The music on Holy Vacants is unlike anything else out there, and Trophy Scars have finally perfected their intensely unique sound into something hard to even comprehend came out of a band that are still as underground as they are. Holy Vacants is not only the best album Trophy Scars have made, but one of the most interesting and one-of-a-kind post-hardcore records out there.
Top tracks: Hagiophobia; Burning Mirror
Preview.
29. Nicki Minaj - 'The Pinkprint'
Genre: Rap/Pop
Country of Origin: USA
Nicki Minaj's third album is such a huge leap forward it's ridiculous. Pink Friday and Roman Reloaded were fun pop albums, but they sure as hell didn't deliver on the hype she had built. The Pinkprint is a complete 180 though, full of downtempo, dark hip-hop anthems that absolutely crush everything Nicki Minaj has made before. The record expertly switches between melancholy and frightening, simultaneously opening a window to Minaj's demons and serving as a reminder to the absolute power she can command. Even in the latter half when the albums starts to get into more mainstream territory, the whole thing feels intricate and ferocious in a way that few other pop or rap artists have matched. It might be a little late, but with The Pinkprint, Nicki Minaj has finally put out the album she promised us four years ago, and it's an unprecedented masterpiece to behold.
Top tracks: All Things Go; The Night is Still Young
Preview.
Preview.
28. Flying Lotus - 'You're Dead!'
Genre: Jazz/Trip-Hop/Electronic
Country of Origin: USA
Flying Lotus makes some of the most intricate and exciting electronic music around, and a lot has changed since Until the Quiet Comes just two years ago. You're Dead! is a busy, fast-paced album of jazzy tracks that breeze by in under two minutes building to wondrous climaxes like the Kendrick Lamar-led 'Never Catch Me'. The album shifts tone faster than you can even follow, but it's consistently made out of complex drums, smooth keys, hip-hop beats, blazing saxophone, the kind of electronic music that you could never imagine even if you tried. With You're Dead!, Flying Lotus has made yet another masterpiece, an intense, fun, lonesome, and lighthearted look at death and how it invades our consciousness, and potentially the best album he's ever written.
Top tracks: Never Catch Me; Tesla
Preview.
Genre: Jazz/Trip-Hop/Electronic
Country of Origin: USA
Flying Lotus makes some of the most intricate and exciting electronic music around, and a lot has changed since Until the Quiet Comes just two years ago. You're Dead! is a busy, fast-paced album of jazzy tracks that breeze by in under two minutes building to wondrous climaxes like the Kendrick Lamar-led 'Never Catch Me'. The album shifts tone faster than you can even follow, but it's consistently made out of complex drums, smooth keys, hip-hop beats, blazing saxophone, the kind of electronic music that you could never imagine even if you tried. With You're Dead!, Flying Lotus has made yet another masterpiece, an intense, fun, lonesome, and lighthearted look at death and how it invades our consciousness, and potentially the best album he's ever written.
Top tracks: Never Catch Me; Tesla
Preview.
27. TK from 凛として時雨 - 'Fantastic Magic'
TK from Ling tosite sigure - 'Fantastic Magic'
Genre: Experimental J-Rock/Post-Hardcore
Country of Origin: Japan
In the (very frustrating) absence of a new record by Rin Toshite Shigure (or whatever other romanization you prefer), singer/guitarist TK has lovingly put out his second solo record to tide us over. What it lacks in the vocal interplay or density that the full band offers, it makes up for ten-fold with intricate song structures and some of the most evocative singing there is. TK has always had a penchant for deeply complex and emotional songs, but Fantastic Magic really steps it up a notch with his most personal music yet. It's an intimate and biting listen, one of the most immediate records of the year, and impossible to put down.
Top tracks: unravel; Spiral Parade
Preview.
TK from Ling tosite sigure - 'Fantastic Magic'
Genre: Experimental J-Rock/Post-Hardcore
Country of Origin: Japan
In the (very frustrating) absence of a new record by Rin Toshite Shigure (or whatever other romanization you prefer), singer/guitarist TK has lovingly put out his second solo record to tide us over. What it lacks in the vocal interplay or density that the full band offers, it makes up for ten-fold with intricate song structures and some of the most evocative singing there is. TK has always had a penchant for deeply complex and emotional songs, but Fantastic Magic really steps it up a notch with his most personal music yet. It's an intimate and biting listen, one of the most immediate records of the year, and impossible to put down.
Top tracks: unravel; Spiral Parade
Preview.
26. cyberbully mom club - 'outdoor activities'
Genre: Lo-Fi Indie Folk
Country of Origin: USA
cyberbully mom club make the music that every sad queer person in their bedroom wishes they could make. outdoor activities is eight simple tracks of acoustic guitars and lonely singing, and it's just perfect. The record is emotive, intimate, and earnest beyond anything else that came out this year. Every release by cyberbully mom club feels like the perfect window into the emotional life of a 20-something queer person, confused and wanting to put the right words together but not eloquent enough to do so. It's like the generic indie music in shitty movies about post-teen awkward kids, except it's done so well, and outdoor activities is by far the group's best record yet.
Top tracks: i oughta go; drunk text romance
Listen.
PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE | PART FOUR | PART FIVE
Genre: Lo-Fi Indie Folk
Country of Origin: USA
cyberbully mom club make the music that every sad queer person in their bedroom wishes they could make. outdoor activities is eight simple tracks of acoustic guitars and lonely singing, and it's just perfect. The record is emotive, intimate, and earnest beyond anything else that came out this year. Every release by cyberbully mom club feels like the perfect window into the emotional life of a 20-something queer person, confused and wanting to put the right words together but not eloquent enough to do so. It's like the generic indie music in shitty movies about post-teen awkward kids, except it's done so well, and outdoor activities is by far the group's best record yet.
Top tracks: i oughta go; drunk text romance
Listen.
PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE | PART FOUR | PART FIVE
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